Going Gluten Free Update + Weekend Workouts

So, since receiving the suggestion to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks at my Wellness FX consultation a few days ago, I’ve been doing some research, planning, and, um, eating.

I’ll discuss the eating first. I feel at the moment that I’m being pulled in two directions. While I have totally decided to follow through with the gluten free experiment, these last two days have been spent either trying to finish up the gluten filled food in my cupboard, or thinking that I should start small and start to eliminate some of the gluten in preparation for the total no gluten thing.

So, while I haven’t had any of my cereal for the last three days, and I skipped my beloved rye toast yesterday, today was spent devouring several slices of toast (hate to waste!), finishing up a tofu quiche that I made last night, and eating my last Subway veggie delight. Today I went shopping and picked up a few things, including the most expensive bread I’ve ever purchased, Udi’s Gluten Free Multi Grain. I’m hoping that it will make my transition a little easier. I also picked up some Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal. Did you know that oats are gluten free, but in the processing of the oatmeal it may get cross-contaminated with wheat, barley or rye? See, I’m learning things! Of course, you pay a high price for the purity of gluten free oatmeal. It costs about twice as much as good ol’ Quaker Oats.

I have decided to start Monday morning with my gluten free and vegan plan. New week, new diet. Actually, tonight’s dinner will qualify because I’m making a spaghetti squash with asparagus. My meal plan so far (and as I’ve commented on a few blogs that are about meal plans, I really suck at this, so it is kind of vague):

Breakfast: Smoothie and one slice of the gluten free toast. I’ll make a big smoothie that will use up the 3 or 4 servings of fruit recommended by the dietician, saving part of it for later in the morning. I’ll throw in the suggested tablespoon of chia or flax. I might add some greens to get in some of those extra veggies she ordered too. Because I work so early, I usually have a second breakfast around 9:00, so I will have the oatmeal then along with the rest of the smoothie.

Lunch: Okay, here is where my lack of planning will challenge me. I’m hoping I’ll have some leftovers from tonight’s dinner. If not, I’ll take the final slice of quiche, remove the crust, and have it with a slice of the precious gluten free bread.

Dinner: Right now I’m planning a big salad that will use some leftover quinoa, plus beans, nuts, veggies and basically everything but the kitchen sink (or anything with gluten).

So, after making it through the first day, I’ll worry about day two when it arrives. My easiest lunch plan during the work week is to bring leftovers from the night before. It’s really the dinner menu that will challenge me. To that end, I’ve found several vegan and gluten free blogs to follow (I will share those in a future post). I also realized that I already had a vegan/gluten free cookbook on my Kindle app, The Gluten-Free Vegan, by Susan O’Brien. I look forward to trying some of her recipes.

So, here we go!

This weekend I rode my bike for the first time in a long time (June 9 according to my Garmin!) Only my sixth ride in 2012. That shocked me. It was a beautiful day, and I tried to focus on that and not how sore my seat felt. With cross country season almost over, I plan to ride a little more. Alan and I always have a great time riding together.

Yes, I managed about 17.5 miles. We’ll see how I feel on Monday.

On Saturday, we had the cross country team meet us in La Quinta to run on our trails. Our final meet is on Wednesday, though our varsity girls should be moving on to the CIF semi-finals. In spite of losing a few (they run ahead because they are faster and, um, younger that we are, then don’t know where to go), we had a great run. Yes, we did find the lost ones.

I know. I look like a giant on the end there. Penny was with us, but she didn’t want to be in the picture. She wanted to run. Although, she always waits for me:

Most of the team was running ahead of us at one point, and in spite of being told to stay right, they veered left. Fortunately, one of the girls was wearing a bright yellow top and I saw her off in the distance. Alan has a pretty loud voice and they finally heard us and came back. Here, they return, whining about a little downhill that they have to take. I guess they’re getting tired.

As for me, I managed to run 5.2 miles on Saturday and ride 17.6 miles on Sunday. How were your weekend workouts?

Going gluten-free would be so tough for me. I would definitely have to start slow if I ever did it! This weekend was good for me, I had a 6-mile race that I was totally unprepared for. It went well! LuckilyLeah @ Chocolate and Wild Air recently posted…Vanderbilt Homecoming 2012

I’m glad your race went well. I’ve run races when I wasn’t prepared and it is always challenging. Good job.

I decided to jump right in (after a few days of planning/thinking about it), because that works best for me. When I quit smoking, I went cold turkey (that was a really, really long time ago). When I went veggie, and finally vegan, it was overnight. All or nothing, baby!Debbie recently posted…Going Gluten Free Update + Weekend Workouts

I was fascinated by your wellness results- read it yesterday and didn’t get to comment. I’m so glad you had a good experience and such a helpful consult. Sounds like you’re very prepared to tackle this gluten free and less-carb lifestyle. Keep us posted!Laura @ Mommy Run Fast recently posted…Breast Cancer Awareness and a Reebok Shoe Giveaway!

I loved the experience. It felt so personal! I’m actually excited about trying all these changes and hoping for good results. You know that I will keep everyone posted 😉Debbie recently posted…Going Gluten Free Update + Weekend Workouts

Good luck on the changes as well. Keep us updated. I’ve been trying to eliminate wheat from my diet, slowly, so I’m kind of in the same boat…day-by-day.Katie @wishandwhimsy recently posted…October Superlatives

I had never even considered eliminating wheat, but now I am totally on board. At least for the three week experiment, then if it makes a difference I’ll be in for life.Debbie recently posted…Going Gluten Free Update + Weekend Workouts

Thank you! I was at TJ’s a little while ago and I looked for those oats. I didn’t see any in a bag, just their Quaker look-alike tube containers. I read the list of ingredients, and it just said oats, but nothing about certified gluten free. I didn’t ask because I just bought that big bag yesterday, so maybe I just didn’t see it.Debbie recently posted…Going Gluten Free Update + Weekend Workouts

I am so excited to hear how your adventure with gluten free goes. I’ve been having crazy stomach-aches lately, so I might be looking to test it out. Definitely will be following you for inspiration. 🙂Amanda @ Run Principessa recently posted…It’s Raining on Birthday Day

Good luck with the gluten free experiment. I find it is pretty easy once you figure things out, the toughest part (being both GF and veg) is eating out. I love the Udi’s bread, but tend to make a lot of my own foods to avoid the high prices. Quinoa, rice, polenta, spaghetti squash are great options, I have a lot of recipes on my blog if you are interested.Jen recently posted…Strange things while running

I’m so naive, but shocked that oats generally aren’t gluten free? I don’t think I was eating them when I followed a gluten free diet, but really, I’ve always been under the impression they aren’t. That’ll teach me for quitting label reading!Kate recently posted…A need for speed and coke

Trackbacks

[…] The hardest change for her, she admits, will be going gluten free. But she’s trying! Follow her progress and transition on her blog. We look forward to seeing how the new insights into her personal system biology will impact her […]

[…] After receiving the results from WellnessFX, Debbie was understandably worried. In a more typical situation, she might have a few rushed minutes with her doctor, where he gave her some rushed advice, if that. Debbie wrote that she was ready for her consultation after se got the results; she “needed someone to explain what was going and what [she] could do to take charge of [her] health.” Through WellnessFX, Debbie selected a registered dietician who specializes in vegetarian and vegan diets and advised Debbie on considering a gluten-free diet, as well as adding various supplements to her diet that will help with her health issues. With a 20-minute consultation and the WellnessFX dashboard at her fingertips, Debbie is that much closer to understanding her health and making choices that improve it, like a three-week trial of going gluten-free. […]